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Hindu philosopher, S Radhakrishnan (1888–1975), described Judaism, Christianity and Islam as religions of intolerance and persecution because of monotheism, the belief in one God. Here is his observation:
"The intolerance of narrow monotheism is written in letters of blood across the history of man from the time when first the tribes of Israel burst into the land of Canaan. The worshippers of the one jealous God are egged on to aggressive wars against people of alien cults. They invoke divine sanction for the cruelties inflicted on the conquered. The spirit of old Israel is inherited by Christianity and Islam."
"The intolerance of narrow monotheism is written in letters of blood across the history of man from the time when first the tribes of Israel burst into the land of Canaan. The worshippers of the one jealous God are egged on to aggressive wars against people of alien cults. They invoke divine sanction for the cruelties inflicted on the conquered. The spirit of old Israel is inherited by Christianity and Islam."
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In her wellness article for Reader's Digest, Carrie Madormo states: "If you’re sipping a cup of tea while reading this, you’re supporting just about every organ in your body. Unsweetened tea is rich in antioxidants, which prevent chronic diseases and help repair cells in the body."
Specifically, the benefits of sipping tea daily include:
- Lower rates of cancer
- Healthier skin
- Less risk for diabetes
- Stronger heart
- Fewer teeth cavities
- Improved sleep
- Defense against Alzheimer's
- Greater attention span
- Faster metabolism which burns fat
(read more: https://www.rd.com/health/wellness/drink-tea-daily/ )
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All those feelings—guilt, anger, resentment, self-pity—are functions of our self-preoccupied attitude. It is this self-centeredness that has kept us trapped in misery from time without beginning. - Thubten Chodron
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TM, Vipasanna, Insight, Mantra, Chanting, Silent . . . these are all styles of meditation and some claim their style is better than others. However, research indicates that regardless of how you meditate, the end result is the same. Writing on the web site psychology today, Thomas Rutledge, PhD., notes:
"Although there is increasing debate among proponents about the “best” form of meditation, current research does not support large differences in their health benefits. Instead, it appears that the regularity of meditation practice is more important than the type of meditation practiced and that meditation preferences are mostly subjective rather than reflecting substantive differences in quality. The reason that different forms of meditation produce similar health benefits is that they produce parallel physical and emotional changes whose shared impact on health exceeds any effect of their outward differences in meditation techniques."
According to study done by Dr. Rutledge, the three main benefits which emerge from any type of meditation are:
"Although there is increasing debate among proponents about the “best” form of meditation, current research does not support large differences in their health benefits. Instead, it appears that the regularity of meditation practice is more important than the type of meditation practiced and that meditation preferences are mostly subjective rather than reflecting substantive differences in quality. The reason that different forms of meditation produce similar health benefits is that they produce parallel physical and emotional changes whose shared impact on health exceeds any effect of their outward differences in meditation techniques."
According to study done by Dr. Rutledge, the three main benefits which emerge from any type of meditation are:
- Meditation improves breathing quality
- Meditation improves nervous system function
- Meditation improves emotional regulation.
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That question was submitted to editors of Lion's Roar magazine. Here's their response:
This is something that’s hotly debated in the Buddhist world. Purists say that the wisdom and compassion we develop in meditation is all we need because it addresses our suffering at the deepest and most effective level. But many Western practitioners—perhaps most—find that Buddhist meditation combined with Western psychology is the best way to free themselves from past trauma, habitual patterns, and negative emotions. In general, Buddhist meditation reveals the basic nature of thoughts and emotions, while psychotherapy deals with their content. The fact is, some of today’s best-known Buddhist teachers are also psychologists or psychotherapists. So meditation, psychotherapy, or both—the choice is yours.
This is something that’s hotly debated in the Buddhist world. Purists say that the wisdom and compassion we develop in meditation is all we need because it addresses our suffering at the deepest and most effective level. But many Western practitioners—perhaps most—find that Buddhist meditation combined with Western psychology is the best way to free themselves from past trauma, habitual patterns, and negative emotions. In general, Buddhist meditation reveals the basic nature of thoughts and emotions, while psychotherapy deals with their content. The fact is, some of today’s best-known Buddhist teachers are also psychologists or psychotherapists. So meditation, psychotherapy, or both—the choice is yours.
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Attitude literally means “stance.” The way you hold your body, your posture; the way you stride forth into your life. - Norman Fischer
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(public domain image from www.pixabay.com)
1. Step outside and breath the cool night air taking in the vastness and beauty of the heavens.
2. Sleep in quiet, dark surroundings.
3. A cup of camomile tea taken an hour before bedtime is relaxing.
4. A warm bath.
5. Rest your feet in cold water. dry briskly and massage with oils.
6. Listen to soothing music.
7. Chant Om silently of aloud.
8. Relax in yoga child pose.
9. Have a good mattress, one which is firm.
10. The bedroom should well ventilated, not too cold, not too warm.
11. Practice deep breathing in bed with fingertips on the abdomen.
12. If all else fails, get out of bed and do a few minutes of gentle yoga.
(source; Suza Norton, Yoga For People Over 50, published in1977)
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We can never get the facts straight because our memories are simply memories: shaded, imprecise, serving the needs and defending the fears of the small self. Memories are not factual reality. - Jan Chozen Bays
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Yoga authority Prashant S. Iyengar describes the difference between yoga practice and other exercise systems. He distinguishes yoga from "gym psychosis" in these three ways:
1. Gym psychosis separates the body. "When there is gym psychosis you will work on the legs in the standing poses. You will work only on the legs to develop the muscles of the legs, strengthen the joints and make the tendons and cartilages function well," but yoga is holistic: "You do standing poses in the yoga paradigm then you will work holistically. The legs will be connected to other parts of the body which are the locus of various parts of the mind. Your legs are connected to your brain. Your legs are connected to your senses, your eyes and ears."
2. Gym psychosis stresses the ego. "In gym psychosis you will say, ―'I did 150 leg lifts, or 100 leg workouts..' You keep yourself separate from the action of your legs. You say, ― I did my leg work.‖ Whereas, there is a unified state with an integrative mechanism when standing poses are performed as yogasanas. There is no ―I‖ different than the body."
3. Gym psychosis does not link breath with action. "There is no integrative mechanism in gym psychosis and workouts. Your breath is not connected to the body. You inhale and exhale; the breathe is connected only as far as the biomechanics are concerned but you do not integrate the breathe with the action. Breathe might accompany the action, but the breath is not integral to the action. In yoga, the breath will not merely be a component of an endeavor but it will become integral to it. "
(feel free to re-post and/or link to your social media)
1. Gym psychosis separates the body. "When there is gym psychosis you will work on the legs in the standing poses. You will work only on the legs to develop the muscles of the legs, strengthen the joints and make the tendons and cartilages function well," but yoga is holistic: "You do standing poses in the yoga paradigm then you will work holistically. The legs will be connected to other parts of the body which are the locus of various parts of the mind. Your legs are connected to your brain. Your legs are connected to your senses, your eyes and ears."
2. Gym psychosis stresses the ego. "In gym psychosis you will say, ―'I did 150 leg lifts, or 100 leg workouts..' You keep yourself separate from the action of your legs. You say, ― I did my leg work.‖ Whereas, there is a unified state with an integrative mechanism when standing poses are performed as yogasanas. There is no ―I‖ different than the body."
3. Gym psychosis does not link breath with action. "There is no integrative mechanism in gym psychosis and workouts. Your breath is not connected to the body. You inhale and exhale; the breathe is connected only as far as the biomechanics are concerned but you do not integrate the breathe with the action. Breathe might accompany the action, but the breath is not integral to the action. In yoga, the breath will not merely be a component of an endeavor but it will become integral to it. "
(feel free to re-post and/or link to your social media)
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The fact is that yoga is open to interpretation. For instance, Patanjali talks of sexual yoga and ifsomeone decides to reduce yoga to just that what can one do? I can‘t blame people for exploiting its open-endedness. After all, in the 1950s when I was in the West trying to propagate yoga it would not have helped if I carried on about spiritualism and philosophy. So I connected with them in whatever way I could --by showing them the physical prowess that yoga brings. I lived only on bread and coffee those days, because there was hardly any vegetarian food available. They saw me teaching eight-nine hours a day on this diet and saw that I still had the strength to throw them over --so I had to stress on physicality. It was only after a decade that I slowly started talking about the intellect and the mind and consciousness. They were ready for it by then. So you see the market-driven yoga industry evolving into something more deep one day?Yoga is being exploited and that is giving it a bad name. But, the spokes of the wheel go down and then they have to come up, don‘t they? (laughs) It can‘t get any worse so it has to get better. Today anyone can be called a yoga teacher but people will see light someday, look for true gurus. - From an Interview with Iyengar shortly before his death in 2014